Christianity began to take root as hundreds of zealous missionaries labored throughout the country to establish churches, Bible institutes, hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages during the latter half of the 19th century.

Many Chinese, however, were vehemently opposed to the infiltration of this “foreign” religion, and sought to purge the nation of all foreigners. Thus began the infamous Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which resulted in the massacre of thousands of Christians.

The sacrifices of those martyrs greatly boosted church growth in the years that followed, and the number of Christians grew rapidly in the early 1900s. Intense periods of growth followed the Japanese invasion in 1937, as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

By the time Mao Zedong took over China in 1949, the country was home to less than 800,000 evangelical Christians. When the communist government expelled all 6,000 foreign missionaries from the country in 1950, true believers banded together for mutual support, undivided by various “Western” denominations. To this day, Chinese Christians resist denominationalism.

Severe persecution of Christians peaked during the Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976. The Red Guards, most of whom were teenagers, rebelled against anything that represented authority, education and religion. Many tortured and killed Christians, the wealthy, and even their teachers and parents.

When traditional churches were closed down, many denominational believers joined the underground house church movement.

It is unlikely that the CCP will retract its repressive regulations against Christians, but the growing number of evangelicals ensures that government officials will be increasingly less able to strictly monitor Chinese believers.

In the meantime, the Christians who refuse to compromise by joining government-approved churches, or contaminate their faith by adding false doctrines to their Bible school curriculums, need our prayers and support for Bibles and underground training schools. Chinese believers have risked everything to serve Christ. Let us not forget them.